High school student, musician to play at Carnegie Hall

A Southwest Florida high school student and musician is headed to a massive stage. Next week, Dunbar High School student Aiden Persaud is set to perform at Carnegie Hall.

The beautiful music you hear took time to learn and perfect. “My name is Aiden Persaud, I’m playing the violin, and this is the third movement of the Concierto A minor by Vivaldi,” Persaud said.

But that perfection has paid off. This Dunbar High School student will play his violin at the 2022 High School Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall.

Needless to say, Aiden is very proud and really pumped. “It’s just really exciting to be from Fort Myers and to be able to go to New York City, which is such an amazing place, and to be able to represent my school, which I’m really proud to be a Dunbar Tiger,” he said.

And Persaud says he’s been preparing for his big moment since 2019. Renata Rosmuz is the violin and viola teacher at The Gulf Coast Music School. “He’s one of those amazing violinists that I thought that would be perfect for him to explore,” Rosmuz said.

Only the top-rated high school musicians get the chance to play in the honors concert. “To get to Carnegie Hall and play over there in a particular orchestra, you have to do an audition. So we did the recording of his piece,” said Rosmuz.

And this recording is what got him his seat on stage at the honors concert. “Playing violin for me is a really stress-relieving activity. It’s really fun. But I also feel like I can express my emotions through playing it,” said Persaud.

Aiden will finally get to play on that stage after waiting two years due to the pandemic. “I really took those two years to practice harder and make sure I have my case. And I’m really excited to go to Carnegie Hall,” he said.

Aiden will be performing at Carnegie Hall on Feb. 5 and 6. He will be in New York for five days alongside performers and students from around the world. These performances are open to the public.